Death of chef Naomi Pomeroy shakes Portland’s restaurant scene

Chef Naomi Pomeroy is believed to have drowned in a boating accident on the Willamette River near Corvallis this weekend. She was 49 years old.

As Portland monthly As reported this afternoon, Pomeroy was on a raft on the river with her husband, Kyle Linden Webster, when they capsized in the strong current. Webster made it to shore, but despite the efforts of search and rescue crews, Pomeroy’s body was not recovered.

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office told Eugene television station KEZI 9 that the woman who went underwater Saturday night was not wearing a life jacket.

Reactions are emerging on social media from Portland’s dining scene and beyond.

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) issued the following statement: “What a loss. Naomi was not only a great chef and entrepreneur, but also an amazing human being. Her influence extended far beyond Portland and helped establish our leadership and reputation for great food. She will be greatly missed.”

“This is terrible,” said Courtney Taylor-Taylor of the Dandy Warhols on X.

“She asked me last month about Nocino as an ice cream flavor and I was just about to tell her that my walnuts were ready when I found out this morning,” said Jim Dixon, WW Contributor and owner of Wellspent Market, on X.

Pomeroy, a Corvallis native, founded an underground supper club called Family Supper in her northeast Portland bungalow in the early 2000s. She is best known for Beast, a 24-seat restaurant with communal tables that offered six-course meals. Fixed price Meals, which was open from 2007 to 2020. In 2011, she appeared as a candidate on Top chef.

Pomeroy won the 2014 James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest.

This spring, she opened Cornet Custard, an ice cream shop on Southeast Division Street, with longtime pastry chef Mika Paredes. In the fall, she planned to open a new restaurant in the adjacent space, the former Woodsman Tavern.